Brian Davis (basketball)

Brian Davis
Personal information
Born June 21, 1970
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight 200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school Bladensburg
(Bladensburg, Maryland)
College Duke (1988–1992)
NBA draft 1992 / Round: 2 / Pick: 48th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Pro career 1992–2000
Position Small forward / Shooting guard
Number 23
Career history
1992–1993 Pau-Orthez (France)
1994–1995 Minnesota Timberwolves
1994–1995 Pittsburgh Piranhas (CBA)
2000 Aliağa Petkim (Turkey)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Brian Keith Davis (born June 21, 1970) is an American former college and professional basketball player who was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 2nd round (48th overall) of the 1992 NBA Draft. A 6'7" guard-forward, Davis played football and basketball at Bladensburg High School, and was a member of the Duke Blue Devils' 1991 and 1992 back-to-back national championship basketball teams. Davis played in the French league with Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez during the 1992–1993 season alongside seven-foot-seven Gheorghe Muresan, and then returned to the NBA for the 1993–94 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he played alongside former Duke teammate Christian Laettner. Davis played in 68 NBA games, averaged 5.5 minutes per game, and scored a total of 131 career points (1.9 per game).

He played in 141 career games for Duke.[1]

Business and philanthropy

Davis co-owns the community development company Blue Devil Ventures (BDV) with former Duke teammate Christian Laettner and Duke alumnus Tom Niemann. Since 1995, BDV has been developing a community in downtown Durham, North Carolina named "West Village." BDV's website describes West Village as a "mixed-use, upscale community consisting of the adaptive-reuse of historic tobacco warehouses built between 1899 and 1926 and located in the Brightleaf District."[2]

In 2005, Davis and Laettner donated $2 million to Duke's men's basketball program to endow an athletic scholarship and support the construction of a planned athletics center and basketball practice facility.[3] Their donation to the Duke Legacy Fund — which seeks to make the Duke basketball program financially self-sufficient — represents the largest donation by former Duke basketball players to the program since Grant Hill endowed a $1 million scholarship in 2000.

In October 2006, it was reported in The Commercial Appeal that an investment group including Davis and former Blue Devils and Timberwolves teammate Christian Laettner had reached an agreement to purchase the 70% share of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies franchise from then-current majority owner, Michael Heisley.[4] However, the deal fell through when Davis's group failed to meet the deadline.[5] Davis and Laettner were also involved in a group negotiating to operate Major League Soccer's D.C. United.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Notes: Duke 78, Baylor 71 – Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site". GoDuke.com. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  2. ↑ http://www.bluedevilventures.com/westvillage.html
  3. ↑ "Laettner, Davis Give $2 Million to Legacy Fund, New Athletic Facility". Dukenews.duke.edu. July 28, 2005. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  4. ↑ "ESPN – Group including Laettner, Davis agrees to buy Grizz – NBA". Sports.espn.go.com. October 2, 2006. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Davis-led group misses deadline to buy control of Grizz". Sports.espn.go.com. January 15, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Davis remains a team player : Grizzlies". Commercial Appeal. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved March 29, 2010.

External links